I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

No Good Deed by Kara Connolly
Published by Delacorte Press on July 18, 2017
Pages: 352
Source: the publisher
Buy on Amazon
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Fans of Dorothy Must Die will love this reimagining of the legend of Robin Hood. Girl power rules supreme when a modern girl finds herself in the middle of a medieval mess with only her smart mouth and her Olympic-archer aim to get her home.

Ellie Hudson is the front-runner on the road to gold for the U.S. Olympic archery team. All she has to do is qualify at the trials in jolly old England. When Ellie makes some kind of crazy wrong turn in the caverns under Nottingham Castle—yes, that Nottingham—she ends up in medieval England.

Ellie doesn’t care how she got to the Middle Ages; she just wants to go home before she gets the plague. But people are suffering in Nottingham, and Ellie has the skills to make it better. What’s an ace archer to do while she’s stuck in Sherwood Forest but make like Robin Hood?

Pulled into a past life as an outlaw, Ellie feels her present fading away next to daring do-gooding and a devilishly handsome knight. Only, Ellie is on the brink of rewriting history, and when she picks up her bow and arrow, her next shot could save her past—or doom civilization’s future.

Hey everyone! I’m so, so excited to be on the blog tour for No Good Deed by Kara Connolly! You guys know I LOVE retellings of any kind, so you know I JUMPED on this book when the blog tour invite showed up in my inbox. So, without further adieu, here’s my review!

I’m REALLY loving this book!!! Unfortunately, life has been a little hectic lately and I haven’t been able to finish reading it yet. That said, I’ve read 50% and feel confident I can write a partial review that will honestly reflect my thoughts and do the book justice. Once I finish the book, I’ll update my review.

I’m getting a lot of different vibes from this book: Robin Hood: Men in Tights vibes. Xena/Hercules vibes. The Witch Hunter vibes. I think these comparisons come from the similar time periods and settings, rather than plot – except for the Robin Hood vibe, the reason for that is obvious!

I really love the characters in this so far. Ellie reminds me of Emily from Make It or Break It – mostly because of the short hair and “Olympic hopeful” thing. James seems swoony so far! The Will Scarlet and Little John characters have me cracking up! I have a feeling I shouldn’t like Guilbert, but I kind of do really like him because I have a feeling there’s more to him than meets the eye!

So far, the plot is incredibly intriguing and I can’t wait to see what happens next! The writing is epic, too – I’m really getting sucked into the story because of it and the plot. I think Kara Connolly is going to be an author to watch and I’m already excited to see what else she does!

So far – and assuming this book continues being epic – I definitely do recommend it to those who love retellings! Also, I was told it has a similar vibe to Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen, so if you’re a fan of that book, I recommend checking this one out!

UPDATE (8/8/17): So I FINALLY finished the book. I’ll admit, I struggled with it a little – the middle dragged a bit. But I’m not sure if it was the book or because of life being hectic and my reading slump, so I’m not going to blame the book. It really picked up at the end and I ended up really enjoying it. My favorite parts were the ones with Eleanor of Aquitaine, especially the part that took place at 76% (in the US eARC version – I think it was chapter twenty-one). I also REALLY LOVED Will Scarlet. He was hilarious and I loved his friendship with Ellie.

The ending was a bit rushed, but adorable and fun. It wrapped up nicely, but it left room for my mind to wander and imagine what happened AFTER. In my opinion, the best standalones are the ones that end in such a way – nicely and with no loose strings, but with enough leeway to picture the “after” however I like.

I still highly recommend this to anyone who loves Robin Hood and retellings.

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Blog Tour Schedule:
July 17:
Joyousread
Cafinated Reads

July 18:
Istyria book blog
My Guilty Obsession

July 19:
Stories & Sweeties
The Book Monsters
Urban Fantasy Investigations

July 20:
Seeing Double In Neverland
Love is not a triangle
A Backwards Story

July 21:
Take Me Away
Feed Your Fiction Addiction

July 24:
Beauty and the Bookshelf
Mom With a Reading Problem

July 25:
Teen Lit Rocks
Peace Love Books

July 26:
Bumbles and Fairy-Tales
The Hollow Cupboards

July 27:
Adventures of a Book Junkie
A Midsummer Night’s Read

July 28:
Gone Pecan
Mommy Ramblings

July 31:
By Valia Lind
Pandora’s Books

August 1:
Cracking the Cover
Jessabella Reads

August 2:
A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM
Bookish Lifestyle

August 3:
Twinning for Books
Ms. Yingling Reads

August 4:
Lisa Loves Literature
She Dreams in Fiction
Zach’s YA Reviews

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About the Author:

Kara Connolly loves history, though she has never time traveled. She lives and writes in Arlington, Texas.

To learn more about Kara and her books, visit her website or follow @readKaraC on Twitter and @readkaraconnolly on Instagram.